Plating rack



Dec. 12, 1944- M.S. SCHNEIDER 2,364,822

' PLATING RACK I Filed Nov. 6, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 12, 1944. M s SCHNElDER 2,364,822

'PLATING RACK Filed Nov. 6, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 i I Z6 25 a mnmw Patented Dec. 12, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE a... summit... 111. Application November 8, 1941, 80! N- 41",,

Claims. (01. 204-291) This invention relates to electroplating apparatus and particularly to work supports or-socalled plating racks for supporting in a plating solution the various articles to be plated.

Plating racks of the general type disclosed herein usually comprise one or more integral elongated bars or rods having a hook at one end so that they may removably be'suspended from a bus bar supported above the solution in the plating tank. Suitable arms are attached to the rods to support the articles to be plated, and these arms usually comprise small hooks or arms which are preferably removably attached to the racks so that hooks or arms of various shapes may be attached to conform with the requirements of difl'erent types of, articles to be plated.

It has been found that, when uninsulated racks are used for supporting articles to be plated, the plating lacks uniformity over the surface of the articles and particularly the surfaces adjacent point or. if desired, the insulation may be omitted and the entire structure may be insulated after assembly, in which latter case the insulation may be scraped or otherwise removed from the work contacting portions of the article supporting arms or books.

Another object is to provide an improved electrical connector means which is automatically operative merely by threading the rack members together to thereby provide an effective electrical connection of the article supporting arms with the rack bars and at the same time to obtain an the rack may not plate as well as the rest of the article for the reason that the large exposed surfaces of the uninsulated rack absorb the electric current and it is sometimes necessary, when such racks are used, to turn the work several times in the process of plating in order to deposit a uniform coating. Also, when the rack is not insulated, a considerable amount of metal is deposited thereon instead of on the work itself, thereby causing considerable waste of the plating metal. It is also desirable to use racks of dif-- ferent size and shape in accordance with the requirements of the articles to be plated. It has, therefore, been necessary to keep in stock large numbers of racks of various sizes and types in order to meet all of the usual requirements.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a knockdown plating rack which is entirely made up of small. interchangeable parts which parts may be assembled in varioustrelationships, together with suitable interchangeable work supports, so that a great variety of racks of various sizes and arrangements may easily be made up by merely changing the connected relationship of the various elements.

It is also an object to provide suitable insulation on the various elements and to provide an improved means for connecting these various insulated elements to obtain the desired electrical characteristics and at the same time to enable any desired positioning or relationship of various types of interchangeable work supports.'

A further object is. to provide an improved construction whereby all of the separable joints and connections of the various elements may be properly insulated and sealed so as to prevent corrosion or other interference with the electrical characteristics of the connections.

It is also an object to provide a knockdown rack construction in which the separate elements may be so insulated as to prevent corrosion at any effectively sealed and insulated mechanical connection of the elements.

Further objects will be apparent from the specification and the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a knockdown plating rack in the form of a single sectional rod and illustrates one embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a detailed side elevation of a portion of the rack shown in Fig. 1 before assembly.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of one of the sheet metal article supporting members adapted to be interchangeably assembled in any desired relationship between the sections of knockdown racks such, for instance, as shown in Figs. 1 and 6.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevation partly in section of partially assembled elements and illustrates the manner of assembling the article supporting arms to form an insulated joint and at the same time an effective electrical connection between any of the rod elements forming the rack.

Fig. 5 is a top view of another embodiment of interchangeable article supporting element.

Fig. 6 is a' front elevation of a multiple-rod rack made up of various interchangeable rod sections. The article supporting members arework support and the method of assembling this support between any pair of sectional rod elements.

. Fig. 10 is a transverse sectional view taken on a line substantially corresponding to line l0lll of Fig. 9. c

Fig. 11 is aperspective view of the cup-shaped washer shown in Fig. 9 for retaining the. wirearticle supporting elements in assembled relationship.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises a terminal hook I for suspending the rackon a suitable bus bar. A connector section 2 is threaded into the hook as shown at 3,-the opposite end of this secwith the article supporting requirements.

tion being internally threaded at 4 to receive a similarly threaded brass stud 5. The section 2 is preferably of brass or other material of high conductivity. The remainder of the sectional rod' is made up of sections 6 which may be of any suitable material but are preferably made of steel and are intemallythreaded at each end to receive threaded brassconnector studs similar to the stud previously described. Brass studs are preferable for connecting the various sections of the rod in order to provide efiective electrical connections when the rod sections are screwed together, although any suitable material may be used, 'A threaded cap 1 is provided at the lower end of the rack assembly, and this threaded cap may be merely a short section of rod or an entire section may 'be used for that purpose if desired.

Various types of work supporting hooks or arms may be clamped between the various rod sections, as illustrated, and are constructed to provide suitable electrical connection with the studs 5 during the clamping operation. In" the embodiment shown in Fig. l, a sheet metal article supporting member 8 is clamped ,between the first sections and with the arm portions formed in the shape of a hook 9 and each arm twisted as illustrated to bring the hook portion into position to support an article thereon. Interchangeablearticle supports I!) and II are also shown assembled in this embodiment and are illustrated indetail in Figs. 3 and 5.

The member ll comprises an elongated sheet metal strap having. bifurcated ends forming arms I 2 which arms may be used in the form shown or may be bent to any shape desired in accordance The strap H is provided with a central opening 43 to receive one of the studs 5 and is sheared on opposite sides of this openin to provide oppositely formed tongues 14, one-tongue being pressed outwardly from each side of the material, substantially as illustrated in Fig. 4. The space between the ends of these tongues, before they are formed outwardly from the blank, is slightly less than the diameter of the stud 5 and is just suflicient after they are.formed outwardly to permit the stud to be inserted through the opening, as shown in Fig. 4. I

The rod sections 2 and 6 are preferably completely insulated by means of any suitable cover- -ing or coating l5 such, for instance, as hard rubber (Fig. 2), except in the internally threaded openings l6 (Fig. 4). Therefore, when any of these sections are screwed snugly together with an article support therebetween, the jointis efiectively insulated. In order to provide a suitable insulation when any of the article supporting arms are mounted between the sections, each .article supporting member is preferably provded with an insulating covering I! (Fig. 4).

However, the end edges of the tongues l4 are not rinsulated for thereason that these edges are intended to make electrical connection with a stud 5'during assembly of a rack.

All of v the, article supporting members are preferably provided with the contactor tongues l4 and the insulation just described, and the connectionwith the rod sections is made in a .similar manner to that disclosed, in Fig. 4. In this view it will beapparent that, if the article i supporting member H or any other article supthe tongues I4 will be flattened out and the inner edges thereof.will be firmly pressed against the brass threaded stud 5 to form an effective electrical connection. At the same time the insulation on the ends of the rod sections and on the article supporting member will form an effective seal against the entrance of any plating fluid into the joint.

Fig. 5 illustrates another type of article supporting member and comprises a sheet metal connector plate It, the connector portion of which is formed substantially identical with that just described and is provided with a central opening 13a for a stud 5 and with oppositely disposed and oppositely bent contact tongues Ma. Resil-- lent wire fingers 19 of any desired type are ormed to provide a loop 20 integral therewith and this loop is secured to the plate ill by means of a rivet 2|. The resilient wire arms may be used in the form illustrated or may be formed to any desired shape to support the type of article to be plated. It will be understood, of course, that all of the article supporting members may have a suitable insulation covering, which covering may be provided by dipping or otherwise, and the insulation may be removed from the article supporting portions and tongue edges by scraping or by any other suitable expedient.

ticalrods 22 and a plurality of horizontal bars 23 assembled therewith. Both the horizontal bars and the vertical rods may, if desired, be made up. of the sections 6, as illustrated in Fig. 1. However. it is preferable to provide horizontal sections 6a of somewhat shorter length than the vertical sections 6, although they may be identical with the sections 6 except for the difference in length. They may also be connected by the same studs 5. However, it is preferable to make these cross bar sections with an integral stud on one end and a threaded socket on the other end. It will, of course, be understood that the length of any of-these sections may be in accordance with the type of articles to be supported and that in any case the elements are all interchangeable one with the other.

Branch connectors 24 and 24a are provided for connecting the horizontal sections to the vertical sections, these connectors being illustrated in detail in Figs. 7 and 8.

Fig. '7 shows a single branch connector 24 having a flattened portion 25, which portion is provided with a slightly tapered opening 25a therethrough to receive a tapered stud such as shown in Fig. 8. The connector 24 is also provided with an internally threaded socket portion 26 adapted to receive any one of the studs 5 or the like so that any desired rod section may be connected thereto and, if desired, any article'supporting member may be clamped between this branch connector and an adjacent rod section.

A doublebranch connector 24a is shown in Fig. 8 and is substantially identical with the single connector of Fig. -'7, except it is provided with two oppositely disposed internally threaded socket portions 21. The flattened portion is also .provided wtih a slightly tapered hole 25a, which hole is identical with that previously described in connection with the connector 24.

A stud 5a (Fig. 8) is used for securing these branch connectors between the sections .6, and this stud is provided with a tapered portion 5b,

which latter snugly fits in the complementary tapered opening of either of the branch connectors as shown. The sections and the connectors are preferably provided with insulation coverings, as previously described, exceptthat the edges of the tapered holes are, not-insulated. Therefore, when the sections are clamped snugly together, the tapered portion b of the stud makes an effective electrical connection in the tapered opening and the joints between the sections are simultaneously sealed. The taper is exaggerated in the drawing, but in practice is only about a two-degree taper so that all of the elements :be securely clamped together to secure the desired results.

Figs. 9, 10, and 11 illustrate another embodiment of article supporting member and retaining means therefor. This embodiment is particularly adapted for use on uninsulated racks, although it may be used equally well with insulated rod sections. As shown in Fig. 10, the

elongated-article supporting arms 28 are preferably made of wire with thieir intermediate portions arcuately formed as illustrated so that these portions may be seated in a sheet metal cup-like washer 29. The walls of this washer are interrupted to provide openings 30 through which the oppositel disposed wire arms extend. The washer and wires therein are adapted to be mounted on any one of the studs 5 between any of the vertical sections 6 or between similar horizontal sections 23. i

In assembling these arms between the sections, a washer 3| is also mounted on the stud 5 and over the open end of the cup 29. The washer is preferably of lead, but may be of an suitable soft material so that, when the sections 6 are screwed snugly together, the material of the washer is pressed into all of the interstices of the joint and completely seals the joint to prevent the entrance of plating fluid therein and at the same time provides intimate electrical contact between the parts This type of Joint is, of course, not insulated during the process of assembly. However, it is especially adapted for racks which are first assembled of uninsulated parts and then dipped in a suitable insulating material and the scraped or otherwise removed from the article supporting-portions of the members.

It'is intended, of course, that theinvention should not be limited to the specific embodiment or embodiments disclosed herein,since modifications may be made, and it is contemplated.

therefore, by the appended claims to cover any such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

. Having thus described this invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A knockdown plating rack comprising at least two rod-like sections arranged substantially end to end, a tension element extending between and connecting said sections and having a screw-"threaded engagement with at least one of said sections, the adjacent ends of said sections having clamping shoulders adjacent said tension element, and a work supporting element extending laterally from said sections and having an opening through which said tension element passes, a portion of said work suppo ting element adjacent said tension element being clamped between said shoulders, and said work supporting element being angularly adjustable about the axis of said tension element.

insulation then of said sections, the adjacent ends of said sec- 2. A knockdown plating rack comprising at least two rod-like sections arranged substantially end to end, a tension element extending be tween and connecting said sections and having a screw-threaded engagement with at least one supporting element being angularly adjustable about the axis of said tension element.

3. A knockdown plating rack comprising at least two rod-like sections arranged substantially end to end. a tension element extending between and connecting said sections and having a screw-threaded engagement with at least one tions having clamping shoulders adjacent said tension element, and a work supporting element extending laterally from said sections and having an opening through which said tension element passes, a portion of said work supporting element adjacent said tension element being clamped between said shoulders and having a spring element said spring element being pressed by said clamping a'ction into engagement with said tension element, said work supporting element being angularly adjustable about the axis of said tension element.

4. A knockdown .plating rack comprising at least two rod-like sections arranged substantially end to end, a tension element extending between and connecting said sections and having a screw-threaded engagement with at least one of said sections, the adjacent ends of said sections having clamping shoulders surrounding said tension element, and a work supporting element extending laterally from said sections and having an opening through which said tension element passes, said work supporting element having a fiat portion surrounding said tension element being clamped between said shoulders, said flat 'portion being sheared to provide tongues to be forced into engagement with said tension element by said clamping action, and said work supporting element being angularly adjustable about the axis of said tension element.

5. A knockdown plating rack comprising at least two rod-like sections arranged substantially end to end, a tension element having a tapered portion extending between and connecting said sections and having a screw-threaded engagement with at least one of said sections, the

adjacent ends of said sections having clamping 

